Far Cry 3 Review

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Basic Information:
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
North American Release ...

OverviewFar Cry 3 is the latest installment in the first-person shooter series from Ubisoft. In this game, you play as Jason Brody, a tourist vacationing in the open world jungle setting of Rook Island with his friends. Far Cry 3 plays nearly the same as its predecessor, though it strives to be more like the original than the second game. Ubisoft took the time to listen to fans and fix many complaints the second game suffered from. Prepare for large, open-world gameplay paired with a story-driven narrative and standard FPS action.

Gameplay
For those gamers that played Far Cry 2, you will pretty much know the basics of how Far Cry 3 will play. It is closely similar and plays as other FPS games. However, Far Cry 3 brings in numerous changes and fixes a great deal that fans didn't like much about its predecessor. For the most part, the gunplay will be very similar, if not a bit smoother than before and the ability for guns to jam and break has been removed altogether. The controls feel much more responsive to what you tell the game to do vs what actually happens as well. Also, sneaking has been vastly improved and you're capable of hiding in shrubbery and plants around the island to sneak around to watch the pirate outposts. Takedowns are added into the gameplay and you are capable of quickly and silently taking down enemies by sneaking up to them and pressing when prompted for an instant kill.

As you play, you will unlock numerous weapons to add to your arsenal to take out the enemies. You will generally battle through hordes of pirates as you play through the story and are capable of using a variety of methods of play. You can sneak through and toy with your enemies or just run in guns blazing, ever which fits your own playstyle. Enemy AI will take cover and use grenades to get you out of cover as well and will sound alarms if you attack a base and are detected. The variant in enemies is pretty standard as well. You have your general guys running around with shotguns and assault rifles, snipers and rocket users in the towers, and at times armored foes that require explosives or a head shot to bring down effectively. In the end game, you will battle more skilled mercenaries with body armor and more powerful weaponry.

One big thing that the game brought in was the tattoo system that plays into the story a bit that Jason will get as he gets level ups and unlocks skill points. You have three areas that you can put skills into and ultimately you are capable of unlocking them all by the end of the game as you progress the story. Each area will range from takedown skills, to gunplay abilities, enhanced sprinting or diving, and a variation of other abilities. All of the skills will turn Jason into a fierce and deadly warrior and it shows through the game as you battle more and more tougher enemies.

Far Cry 3 gun fight. Taking out pirates behind cover with an assault rifle never looked so good before.

Another change this time around, you are capable of carrying up to four weapons and numerous types of explosives at all times. While in the beginning, you still only are allowed to carry one weapon, you can use the crafting system in the game to upgrade your weapon holsters to carry more, in addition, to upgrading all your other ammo pouches, backpack, syringe kits, etc. All of these things and more can be virtually upgraded and improved through the game's skinning ability of animals you kill as you play. This adds in a bit more exploration into the game and makes it feel a bit like Red Dead Redemption meets Skyrim in a way.

Throughout the game, you can skin animals, harvest plants, and collect various loot in chests littering the island. With all of these things, you can craft new pouches and syringes to enhance your abilities and sell the loot for more money to buy weapons and customize your gear. All of this will be handled at weapon lockers stored in each guard outpost you take over and the major cities in your safehouse. You can buy any weapon virtually and the game adds in bow and arrows, a repair tool, and other nifty items. These will become unlocked as you play through the story, complete side missions, and unlock radio towers that block signal on the island. These radio towers will block out your map until you destroy the signal jammer at the top, adding a bit to the experience of Far Cry 3 and as an added bonus, will unlock weapons at the outposts for "FREE".

Also, another big change were the tweaks to the fast travel system. Now you are able to select any guard outpost you have taken over or city and select to fast travel instantly on the map. No longer do you need to rely on buses that are stationed in each corner of the massive world. The island itself in Far Cry 3 is much better designed and easier to navigate through as a whole. Back to the syringes, you are able to carry many more of these to instantly heal Jason as you play and if you run out, you will resort to the basic patching up that Far Cry 2 used as well. You are given the ability to also craft special syringes to use for exploring deep underwater or to keep animals away and some variety of other nice treats.

At each of the guard outposts, as you take them over, your allies in the Rakyat will arrive and stand guard to ensure the pirates don't come back, which they won't. Each takeover is completely permanent unlike where the guards always respawned in Far Cry 2. Also, you are given several side quests throughout the game, many posted on boards at the outposts while some are scattered hidden through the island. These quests add many more hours of value into the game and consist of hunting rare animals, hunting pirate captains, and other trials that you can experience. They aren't that expansive or have much variety after a while, but they are definitely fun to play through and are a quick way for extra EXP and money.

The last thing is the variety in the animals that are scattered throughout the island and depths of the ocean. You will see many numerous creatures and unlike Far Cry 2, where everything ran away from you, they will not interact with you as well as the rest of the living beings in the game. You will generally go out hunting prey to get materials such as skin to improve your gear or to sell for money, but be warned, they will become hostile if provoked. Some enemies such as komodo dragons and tigers are naturally hostile and will attack you and enemies alike on sight. It adds a more realistic feel to the game and is a sweet spot with many fans to just go out hunting. I found myself just hunting creatures for hours on end, even after I had fully upgraded my gear.

This is a not a pleasant sight during your adventures.

In addition to the pirates and animals you will battle throughout the game and the side quests at the outposts, there are a variety of collectibles to seek out to add to your gaming experience. Most times, collectibles suck to go after, but Far Cry 3 adds in enough to contain the value and they aren't too bad to go after. Plus, it's actually fun to explore the island and the caves to try and find the treasures. You have a number of memory cards that are found in outposts, you have rare relics that are scattered everywhere you go, and you can find lost letters on dead bodies around significant sights on the island. These letters are interesting as they tell stories from World War II about the military and people that were stationed on the island at the time. If you fall down a deep well, you may find a poor soul that got trapped down here and died, and are capable of reading his letter. It contains its own tale within the game which is a really nice added effect many games can't capture fully. Also, you are rewarded with trophies and in game weapons and bonuses like special syringe recipes for acquiring select numbers of each of these collectibles. Did I mention they get marked on your map too so you don't HAVE to really look too hard?

Singleplayer
In Far Cry 3, you play the role of Jason Brody, who along with his friends, go venturing out on Rook Island just for some fun. However, that fun is short lived when you are all captured by pirates and held hostage by a mad man named Vaas, who appears to be the pirate leader. Your brother in the beginning is military and manages to kill a guard and break out, ensuring both of your freedom if you can sneak out the camp. You play through a basic tutorial and then realize that Vaas is onto you and kills your brother right before your eyes. However, you still manage to escape and throughout the game, you attempt to rescue the rest of your friends and learn the ways of the Rakyat, a tribe of fierce warriors out to chase off the pirates, led by a woman known as Citra. They basically save Jason's live and then recruit him realizing that he is capable of learning their tattoos and growing to be a warrior amongst them that can possibly stop Vaas and his horde of crazy pirates.

"Did I ever tell you the definition of Insanity?" Meet Vaas, the insane pirate leader of Rook Island.

The story sounds a bit generic at first, and in some ways it can be, but it is extremely engrossing and brings a lot of emotion to play as you experience it. I found myself continually wanting to know what happened more and more and to actually get revenge on these people that I fought and see where this Rakyat tribe thing went. It actually seemed well written and made me feel what I thought they may feel in real life which is a damn good thing in a video game storyline.

Also, the game is pretty long, taking several hours to actual complete just the story of it, which translates over about 38 missions and ten chapters. You are completely able to free roam the entire island at your leisure, with a new island opening up in the last quarter of the game to experience new enemies and places. In addition to the main story, you have numerous sidequests to complete and experience so the game has a great deal of value to it on the massive island.

Multiplayer
Here is probably the only troubling part of Far Cry 3. While everything else in the game is nearly perfect, the coop and multiplayer gameplay has a few issues, but is still not bad by any means. You have your generic multiplayer options such as death match and the unique map editor is also still there but you also have the ability to play a very basic coop map with up to four players. This basic coop session can be played offline or online, and consists of 6 missions to complete, ultimately to recover some treasure that your captain screwed you out of.

It plays virtually the same as core game control wise, but is a little bit buggy and the voice acting very campy. You may experience issues with disconnecting online or even getting involved in some matches. Even the offline coop will freeze up and fail to load at times. With a better server and a bit more polish, this mode could of been very fun and a lot more enhanced. Each mission of the story here consists of going from point to point, and killing waves of enemies or planting a select number of bombs to a location and moving on. it repeats like this and has very little variety, but there is still fun to be had killing pirates with your friends.

Technical
Firstly, Far Cry 3 is absolutely massive and is compared to Elder Scrolls, being called "Skyrim with guns", while I view it more as Red Dead Redemption meets Far Cry. The game is beautiful and the scenery still just as gorgeous as it was in Far Cry 2, with a better display of the lighting so that you aren't blinded all the time by the sun. The weather still fluctuates and changes at times and the day cycle will go from sunlight to nighttime over the course of your playing. Also, the water effects are amazing and very well done here and swimming actually feels very real, yet smooth.

Some of the beautiful detail in the island forest and enemies patrolling.

Control wise, everything is very fluid from the gunplay controls, to navigating the island and even viewing your game menus and maps. Everything cycles and is viewed very nicely throughout the entire game. Also, there is virtually no lag unlike many other Open World genre games out there, everything stays running smoothly on the PS3 and the game is designed superbly. Voice acting through the main story and singleplayer experience is spot on for the most part, while the voices in the coop and multiplayer are very generic and campy so keep that in mind.

Trophies
Far Cry 3's platinum isn't a difficult task by any means and is definitely much more obtainable than the previous game in the series. You will have no difficulty trophies, leaving you to fully enjoy the story at a pace and setting you prefer and there are virtually not missable trophies story wise. You will need to complete a little bit of everything the game has to offer, from taking over all enemy base camps, activating a specific number of radio towers that open your map up, and special variation of kills.

In addition, you have numerous collectibles that all can be marked on your map and are fairly easy to obtain. These collectibles will range from memory cards found at outposts, relics scattered hidden through the wilderness, and letters lost from World War II that add to the story of Rook Island. There are no online trophies in this game, only six coop trophies that can be completed offline with a friend or the use of two controllers. The platinum will be easily achieved by most players very quickly. The only missable trophy is obtaining all skills as you unlock a skill based on how you took over an outpost. If you complete all outposts, this will be unobtainable if that skill doesn't unlock.

Closing Thoughts
Far Cry 3 is definitely one of Ubisoft's best developments and one of the most fun games to release during 2012. It is a superb game with a lot of features added in and a variety of improvements over it's predecessor. Graphically and sound wise, the game is astounding and the controls and gameplay are spot on. It has a great story to keep you entertained and some replay value in collecting and finishing off all the game has to offer. It is a fun game and one any fan of open world shooters will need to check out! Plus the platinum is fairly straightforward and nice to add to that collection. Far Cry 3 is one of the best games I've played in a while and definitely the best shooter to release for some time.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is spot on and feels very nice for Far Cry 3. You have many extra things to do and there is a lot of side collectables to achieve. The combat feels very fluid as do the controls and the overall layout of the game.

Singleplayer: 9/10
The story is very well written and quite lengthy making it a worth while experience. It has a very in depth touch to it and you can relate and feel as the other characters do while playing.

Multiplayer: 7/10
Needs a bit more work here or improved servers, but is a fun generic FPS experience with multiple modes to keep fans playing past the trophies. Online and offline coop are definitely a plus however.

Technical: 9/10
Only a few bugs in the multiplayer section, but the rest of the game runs perfectly for the most part. No big glitches or lag and the game is absolutely massive. The graphics are really great and look stunning and nearly real as you explore the island and the ocean. The weapons and people have a nice look and design as well.

Overall: 9/10

Last edited by Nagflar; 02-07-2013 at 06:07 PM.

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Thanks guys I definitely hope for some good DLC for this game too! . Honestly if not for the MP in it being a bit holding back and there being just a bit more to really set it apart, I would of given it a ten. . really there is something that can hold every game back from being perfect, however, to me this game was a ten . A solid 10 no doubt. But gotta call it fair.

Thanks for reading everyone, and agree so far with the score. Don't feel bad to post either if anyone has any complaints or issues. Someone out there has to differe and find more problems with FC3.

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